Archive for first drafts

Image: Signature Reads / Shutterstock
The Book Booth is a weekly feature at The Political Carnival, relating news, notes, and reflections from the world of books and publishing. It is written by @SeattleDan and SeattleTammy, operators of an on-line bookstore (which you can find here) , who have been in the book business since shortly after the Creation, or close to 6000 years now.

The Book Booth: Birds Flying High Edition

Another week and again the news does not fail to amaze. I'm sure everyone's heard all the jokes already and I don't have anything to add. But my neck is sore from all the head shaking.

The great Meryl Streep made headlines with her acceptance speech for the Cecil B. DeMille Award at the Golden Globe Awards earlier in the week, prompting Signature to identify her top ten film roles based on literary sources. Of course her take on Sophie in Sophie's Choice is wonderful, but I have a sneaky regard for her Susan Orlean in the film Adaptation, the Spike Jonez/Charlie Kauffman film.Meryl Streep is a Wonderful Actress

I posted last week on other film adaptations from books that will be released this coming year. The Guardian has its own list which includes other movies not on that list. There will be a Trainspotting 2; and Margaret Atwood has another work being adapted in Alias Grace in addition to the new version of The Handmaid's Tale.More Film Adaptations We'll See in 2017

During the past week we also saw the first anniversary of the passing of David Bowie. It turns out that he and the novelist of The Hours, Michael Cunningham, attempted to collaborate on a musical that did not come to fruition. Mr. Cunningham discusses the work as well as his relationship with Bowie here for GQ Magazine.Michael Cunningham on Working with David Bowie

The Persian poet Rumi has had a following among readers in the West for some time now. Rumi was, of course, a Sufi mystic, and Sufism is a sect of Islam. However, as Rozina Ali explores in this New Yorker article, the poet's Islamic faith is somehow being erased from his legacy.Where Did Rumi's Islamic Faith Go?

The unreliable narrator has been a part of the novelistic tradition for some time now, and pre-dates its use by Joseph Conrad and Ford Maddox Ford at the beginning of the 20th century. Here Sarah Pinborough discusses her top ten unrelialbe narrators for the Guardian. And for what it is worth, I have not yet read Girl on a Train.Unreliable Narrators in Fiction

Unless the writer is an adherent of Jack Kerouac's dictum on spontaneous prose, most authors revise their first drafts. Over and over again. Twelve writers discuss the revision process here for LitHub.Those First and Second and Third and Fourth Drafts

The idea of the Great American Novel goes back to 1868 and there have been many candidates since that time. Ernest Hemingway famously said (incorrectly) that all American Literature comes from Huck Finn. But other writers have their own ideas on what that work might be as Emily Temple lists, once again, for LitHub.So...Has Anyone Written the Great American Novel Yet? What Is It?

Say you're a librarian and you love so many books that are going to be discarded from your system because no one has checked those books in over a year. What do you do? You go rogue, of course! But be careful about getting caught. Thanks to Lucian for this link.Rogue Librarians Fight Back!

Alas, this past week we lost the author and jazz critic Nat Hentoff at age 91. He wrote for The Village Voice for many years and shared his passions for civil liberties and for jazz. He will be missed. NPR has this appreciation.Nat Hentoff Has Moved On

On Monday we will celebrate the life of Martin Luther King jr. With the upcoming inauguration, we must never forget what this man meant for our country and our hopes for freedom. And what does freedom feel like? Ms. Nina Simone tells us in this song written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley for the musical The Roar of the Greasepaint, The Smell of the Crowd.

Please note: For some reason YouTube says that I cannot 'embed' this song (which would mean that you could play it directly from the Book Booth. Since I can't, please go to YouTube directly here.

Have a wonderful weekend, read much and let us know what words you are devouring. We'd love to know. Attachments area